Inseam sewing and upper tensioning machines



Feb. 19, 1963 G. MILLER 3,

I INSEAM SEWING AND UPPER TENSIONING MACHINES Filed Oct. 4, 1961 3Sheets-Sheet l In pen for M .LZqya CTR Miller gi t 15717727177717 M yhis All n 19 Feb. 19,- 1963 G. MILLER 3,077,844

INSEAM SEWING AND UPPER TENSIONING MACHINES Filed Oct 4, 1961 sSheetsSheet 2 I I I i Feb. 19, 1963 L. G. MILLER INSEAM SEWING AND UPPERTENSIONING MACHINES Filed Oct. 4, 1961 United States Patent @fifice3,17,84d Fatented Feb. 19, 1963 3,077,844 El ldEAM SEWEJG AND UEPERTENSZDNEIJG MAQHENES Lloyd G. Miller, Beverly, Mass, assignor to Unitedtihoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N.Zi., a corporation of NewHersey Get. 4, 1961, Ser. No. 142,899 '7 Claims. (Cl. 132-35) Thepresent invention relates to improvements in Goodyear inseam sewingmachines, and more particularly to devices for imparting a uniformtension to a shoe upper as it is being sewn to the rib of an insole in amachine of the type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No.1,920,?98, granted August 8, 1933, and No. 2,041,945, granted May 26,1936, both in the name of Alfred R. Morrill.

The machine of the patents referred to is intended to operate upon anupper and an insole of a shoe while being presented bottom side up tothe machine and usually a welt is guided into the point of operation ofthe machine where Goodyear welt shoes are being manufactured. Beforepresenting the shoe to the machine the upper and insole are applied to alast. The shoe is lasted by tensioning the upper and stapling orotherwise securing the marginal portions of the upper to the insole.

In the manufacture of a Goodyear welt shoe the insole is formed with anupstanding rib set back from its outer edge and a line of staplesordinarily is inserted through the marginal portions of the upper andthe top edge of the rib to hold the upper in place. The lasted marginalportion of the upper is thus caused to bridge across the edges of theinsole and of the rib, resulting in a triangular gap into which theupper is drawn during the course of inseam sewing. In this way tensionimparted to the shoe upper during the lasting operation is increased.The increased tension, however, is not alsways applied to the upperuniformly, the rib on the insole frequently providing insufficientrigidity and becoming distorted, so that greater tension is applied tothe upper along certain of its marginal portions and less tension isapplied along others. Nonuniform tension in the upper is detrimental tothe appearance of a completed shoe and under some conditions requiresremoval of the inseam for resewing.

An important object of the present invention is to provide an inseamsewin machine of the type referred to, which is capable of tensioningthe marginal portions of a shoe upper more uniformly and effectivelythan heretofore and which causes less distortion of the sewing rib onthe insole than prior machines. To these ends the illustrated machine,besides having a curved hook needle, is provided with an upper engagingspur acting while the needle penetrates the upper to support andpretension the upper inside the curvature of the needle uniformly foreach stitch. Thus, the sewing rib is prevented from distortion andnonuniform tensioning results in the upper are avoided. Even wherestaples have been inserted no undesirable results occur and more nearlyuniform tension is applied to the upper than with prior machines.

As illustrated, the machine is equipped with a needle guide mountedconcentrically to the arc of needle curvature for swinging movement withthe needle toward and from the shoe upper and the spur of the inventionis secured to the needle guide at a position inside the curvature of theneedle.

These and other features of the invention as hereinafter described andclaimed together with the advantages to be obtained will readily beaparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary sectional view looking from the left and showingportions of a shoe presented to the 2 head of a sewing machine embodyingthe features of the present invention, the operations not having beenstarted;

FIG. 2 is a similar view of the same portions of the shoe and machineshowing the needle as it begins to penetrate the work;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detail plan view of some of the parts of themachine of FIG. 2 surrounding the sewing point;

PEG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of the parts of the machine shownin FIG. 1, illustrating the positions assumed after the needle hascompleted its first work penetrating stroke;

PEG. 5 is a similar sectional view of the machine illustrating theoperating parts after the completion of the first stitch in the seam;

F IG. 6 is a similar view showing the needle at the limit of its Workpenetrating stroke during the formation of the second or any succeeedingstitch in the seam;

FIG. 7 is a plan view similar to FIG. 3, showing the positions of themachine parts while the needle engages the work at the beginning of eachsuccessive stitch formation; and

FIG. 8 is an exploded view showing the arrangement of the needle, needleguide, and an upper pretensioning spur utilized in the presentinvention.

As illustrated in the drawings the machine is intended for operationupon a shoe mounted on a last 10 about which an upper 12 for the shoe isto be attached by an inseam, the upper otherwise having been pulledloosely over the last and centered by temporary fastenings. At tached tothe tread surface of the last is an insole 14 having a sewing rib 16spaced i wardly from its peripheral edge. In tensioning the upper 12 itsedge and the top edge of the sewing rib 16 may be deflected somewhattoward the peripheral edge of the insole and the upper is caused tobridge betwen the top edge of the sewing rib and the peripheral edge ofthe insole to form a triangular gap 1 5 (see FIGS. 2, 4 and 5).

During the operation of the machine the shoe is presented in bottom sideup position and the inseam is inserted through the upper and the base ofthe sewing rib in a manner to close up the gap and thereby to tensionthe upper by an amount equal to the difference between the linear lengthof the upper required to conform with the angle of the insole and thesewing rib, on the one hand, and the length of upper required to bridgethe gap '18, on the other hand. With Goodyear welt shoe construction awelt also is employed.

When a shoe is first presented to the machine its upper projects abovethe outer edge of the insole more or less parallel with the sewing rib15, as shown in FIG. 1. As soon as the machine is started the upper ispressed toward the sewing rib until it engages its upper edge, so thatit bridges the gap 18 until after a stitch is formed (see FIG. 2). Afterformation of each stitch successive increments of the upper are drawnsuccessively into the angle between the insole and the sewing rib toclose up the gap iii rogressively and to tension the upper accordingly,as shown in FIG. 6. This tensioning action is produced by theinteraction of several factors, the closing up of the gap beingprimarily induced by drawing back on the sewing thread with a stitchsetting tension until the maximum possible tightness is imparted to theseam.

While the machine disclosed is similar to that described in anapplication for US. Letters Patent Serial No. 117,057, filed June 14,1961, in the name of the present inventor, it is of the general typeillustrated in the prior patents above referred to and for practicalpurposes the present invention could well be utilized in the machine ofthe patents.

aorzeaa The stitch forming, work feeding, and stitch setting devicesinclude a curved hook needle 2%, a curved awl 22, a needle looper 24, athread finger 26, a channel guide 28, a needle guide 30, and a weltguide 31.

The machine acts to insert an inseam 32 (see FIG. 7) passing through awelt 34 when a Goodyear welt shoe is being operated upon, the marginalportion of the upper 12 close to the outer edge of the insole and thebase of the sewing rib 16. To form the stitches the curved needle issecured to a segment 36 mounted for swinging movement in an arcuate pathto penetrate the welt, the upper and the sewing rib from the welt side.For this purpose the needle segment 36 oscillates about a shaft 38,rotatable and slidingly mounted in hearings in the machine frame.

The awl 22 co-operates with the needle and is meant ed for oscillatingand sliding movement on a segment 40 pivoted in the machine frame. Theawl ordinarily enters the work and forms a perforation before the needleacts, the needle entering the awl perforation and imparting a feedingmovement to the work after the awl has withdrawn. In thformation of thefirst stitch in a seam, however, the needle provides its own perforationwithout assistance of the awl, the parts taking the positionssuccessively shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. To support the sewing rib 16against the thrust of the needle the rib is engaged by the channel guide28 located as closely as possible to the plane of the needle 20 withoutactually being contacted by the needle (see FIGS. 3 and 7). After fullpenetration of the needle the looper 24 and thread finger 26 lay a loopof thread in the needle hook, so that during its retracting stroke thethreaded hook withdraws the loop of thread (FIG. During the next workpenetrating stroke the needle withdraws a second loop of thread throughthe work and through the first loop of thread to complete the formationof the second stitch. This second stitch is thereafter partiallytightened during the third retracting stroke of the threaded needle.

To apply a final stitch setting tension to each stitch the sewingthread, indicated at 42, extends upwardly from the looper 24 and isengaged by a take-up 44. Just before the looper lays the thread in thehook of the needle at the beginning of the stitch formation the takeup44 applies suflicient pull to the thread while the last formed stitchsurrounds the needle, as shown in FIG. 6, to draw the parts beingoperated upon securely together and to set each stitch in a seam, thusclosing up the gap 18 shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5. During this stitchsetting action at the time when the parts are in i the positions shownin FIG. 6 each loop of thread, indicated at 46, surrounding the needlecauses the welt and upper to be tightened about the last by the take-up,in moving through its full stroke, from the broken line to the solidline positions. Such movement squeezes the welt and upper lengthwisealong the needle in a direction to tighten the upper against the sewingrib backed by the channel guide 28.

To assist the action of tightening the upper about the last 10,according to an important feature of the present invention, the machineis provided with upper pretensioning means comprising a spur 48 securedto the needle guide at a position inside the curvature of the needle.The spur is so located that it engages the marginal portion of the upperand acts to tighten it with a preliminary tension both before and whilethe needle engages it. Thereafter, the needle penetrates the upper at alocation between the spur and the edge of the insole, tightening theupper further.

To secure the spur to the needle guide, the needle guide is grooved tofit the shank of the spur and a similarly grooved plate 50 is made fastto the needle guide by a clamp screw 52 (FIGS. 3, 7, and 8).

At the end of a seam it is the practice for the operator to remove acompletely sewn shoe, raise it above operating position and carry thethread 42 extending .from the seam between a pair of gripping jaws 54and against a thread cutter knife 56 to sever the thread. During theformation of the first stitch the thread remains .in position betweenthe gripping jaws 54 until the needle is threaded and starts itsretracting stroke with the thread in its hook, the thread then beingwithdrawn from the gripping jaws as shown in FIG. 5. During theremainder of the scam the thread is kept under control by the take-upacting against the securement provided by each previous stitch.

As an operation is started on a shoe presented to the stitch formingdevices of the machine, as in FIG. 1, the first oscillating movement ofthe needle causes the spur to be projected into the upstanding looseportion of the upper 12, causing the upper to be laid against the sewingrib and to be penetrated by the spur. Thereafter, the needle penetratesthe upper as in FIG. 2 at a position between the spur and the edge ofthe insole. During this time the take-up moves up slightly from thedotted line position of FIG. 2 to the solid line position to lay thethread with certainty into the needle hook at the forward end of itswork penetrating stroke (FIG. 4), the take-up 44 then imparting afurther pull on the thread, as indicated by the increasing distancebetween the solid line position of the take-up and the broken lineposition which corresponds with the starting position of FIG. 1.

It will be apparent that as the needle penetrates the upper between thespur and the edge of the insole a substantial force will be applied tothe upper, tending to conform it with the shape of the angularlydisposed surfaces on the insole between the rib and the insole edge.Such forces, however, are ordinarily insufficient to overcome thetension on the upper and to close up the gap 18. Complete conformity ofthe upper with the surfaces of the insole and closing the gap 13 istherefore left to the action of the take-up in applying the final stitchsetting tension on the thread. The gap closing forces on the upper donot require overcoming all of the tension created by the spur, inasmuchas the location of the needle during its work penetrating stroke ishorizontally displaced in the direction of work feed ahead of the pointof operation of the spur, as readily appears from FIG. 7 and thereforeis off the line of greatest tension in the upper.

To cause the spur to oscillate with the needle during the first portionof the needle movement toward the work the needle guide 30, whichcarries the spur is mounted to turn on a hub portion of the needlesegment 35, so that the needle guide moves concentrically to the arc ofneedle curvature toward and from the shoe upper, the shape and angulardisposition of the spur determining the tensioning action imparted tothe upper 12. Between the needle segment and the needle guide there is areleasable connection comprising a shifting locking ball 58 (see FIG. 8)disposed in a perforation extending parallel to the axis of needleoscillation through the hub of the needle guide 39. The ball 58 isarranged to engage alternately within recesses formed respectively inadjacent faces of the needle segment 36 and a relatively stationarymember 60 surrounding the needle shaft. When the needle is free of thework the ball 58 engages the recess in the needle segment, so that thespur is Withdrawn with the needle after its threaded hook is retractedfrom the work. Movement of the ball 58 from engagement with the needlesegment 36 into engagement with the stationary member 60 is produced asa projection on the needle guide engages a lug 62 on the stationarymember 66, stopping further movement of the needle guide and causing itto be locked to the stationary member. Upon retraction of the needle theprojection on the needle guide is engaged by a projecting shoulder 64 onthe needle segment to cause the needle guide to be unlocked from thestationary member 60 and reconnected for movement with the needlesegment. Because smegma the marginal portions of the upper are raisedand supported by the spur a greater and more uniform tensioning actionis applied to the upper in the present machine than with prior machines,depending entirely upon the needle and the tensioning action of thethread on the upper, the needle entering the upper at a predetermineddistance at all times ahead of the spur '48.

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated and aparticular embodiment having been described, what is claimed is:

1. A shoe inseam sewing machine having a curved hook needle mounted forswinging movement in an armate path to penetrate an upper and an insoleon a shoe while being presented bottom side up to the machine, incombination with means to engage the marginal portion of the shoe upperinside the curvature of the needle and to apply a preliminary tension tothe upper while the needle penetrates it.

2. A shoe inseam sewing machine having a curved hook needle mounted forswinging movement in an arouate path to penetrate an upper and an insoleon a shoe while being presented bottom side up, a needle guide mountedconcentrically to the arc of needle curvature for swinging movementtoward and from the shoe upper and other stitch forming and work feedingdevices, in combination with a spur secured to the needle guide at aposition inside the curvature of the needle to engage the marginalportion of the shoe upper and to apply a preliminary tension to it whilethe needle penetrates it.

3. A shoe inseam sewing machine as in claim 2, in which a take-up isprovided for tightening each stitch to draw the upper into conformitywith the insole and thereby increase the preliminary tension imparted bythe spur to the upper as each stitch is tightened.

4. A shoe inseam sewing machine having a curved hook needle, a needlesegment in which the needle is mounted for swinging movement in anarcuate path to penetrate an upper and an insole on a shoe while beingpresented bottom side up to the needle, a needle guide mountedconcentrically to the needle curvature for swinging movement toward andfrom the shoe upper, and a shifting ball releasable connection betweenthe needle segment and the needle guide for actuating the needle guidetoward the shoe parts as the needle is moved toward them and forunlocking the needle guide from the needle segment as the needlepenetrates the shoe parts, and other stitch forming and work feedingdevices, in combination with a spur secured to the needle guide at a.position inside the curvature of the needle to penetrate the marginalportion of the shoe upper before the needle engages the shoe parts andto remain stationary as the needle penetrates the upper between the spurand the edge of the insole.

5. A shoe inseam sewing machine as in claim 4, in which the ballconnection withdraws the spur from the shoe upper after the threadedhook of the needle has retracted from the work.

6. A shoe inseam sewing machine as in claim 2, in which a releasableclamp plate is carried by the needle guide to secure the spur adjustablyto the needle guide.

7. A shoe inseam sewing machine as in claim 2, in which the needleengages the upper at a position between the spur and the edge of theinsole and horizontally displaced from the spur in the direction of workfeed ahead of the point of operation of the spur.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,285,387 Richards Nov. 19, 1918 2,041,945 Morrill May 26, 19362,411,499 Boothroyd Nov. 26, 1946

1. A SHOE INSEAM SEWING MACHINE HAVING A CURVED HOOK NEEDLE MOUNTED FORSWINGING MOVEMENT IN AN ARCUATE PATH TO PENETRATE AN UPPER AND AN INSOLEON A SHOE WHILE BEING PRESENTED BOTTOM SIDE UP TO THE MACHINE, INCOMBINATION WITH MEANS TO ENGAGE THE MARGINAL PORTION OF THE SHOE UPPERINSIDE THE CURVATURE OF THE NEEDLE